Open-top mailbox with sliding receptacle engaging cover



May 15, 1951 F. B. GALLAHER OPEN TOP MAILBOX WITH SLIDING RECEPTACLE ENGAGING COVER 2 Sheets-Sheet l w'lc 24"" INVENTOR.

FRED. B. GALLAHER Filed June 3,

l zap-l- 4-2.0.

FIG. I

ATTORNEY.

May 15, 1951 F. B. GALLAHER OPEN TOP MAILBOX WITH SLIDING RECEPTACLE ENGAGING COVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 3, 1948 lllllltiiillililllllllillll.ll

' INVENTOR. l-2GB B. CALLAHER fiTTORNE Y.

Patented May 15, 1951 UNITED STATES RATENT OFFiCE OPEN-TOP MAILBOX WITH SLIDING RECEPTAQLE ENGAGING CQVER 2 Claims.

My, invention relates to an improvement in mail boxes.

An object of my invention is to provide a mail box that is neat in appearance, sturdy in construction, long lived, and one that is simple and easy to use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a box of the kind mentioned in which there is a box within a box and the inner box is slidable up and down within the outer box so that any mail that may be in the mail box may be raised above the top of the outer box, whereby the mail may be easily taken hold of and.

removed from the mail box.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mail box of the kind mentioned that has a hinged cover thereon and the cover may be raised by hand or if the inner box be raised, parts of the inner box will engage and raise the cover and lock it in its raised or open position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mail box of the kind mentioned in which the cover may be locked in a closed position, and the cover i provided with a mail slot through which mail may be entered into the box while the cover is locked in its closed position.

These and other objects of the invention will be more fully explained as this description progresses.

Now referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar numerals of reference designate the same parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

Fig. l is a front view of the mail box.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the box, both sides bein alike. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the box.

Fig. 4. is an'enlarged detail perspective view of the cover locking device of the box.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view through the box and showing the box in a closed position, the view being as seen from the line VV in Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a view, the ame as Fig. 5 except that the box is shown inan open position and the inner box is raised within the outer box.

Fig. '7 is a bottom plan view of the mail box.

Fig. 8 is a sectional View through the lower corner portion of the box, the View being as seen along line VIIIVIII in Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view through the lower corner portion of the box, the view being as seen from the line IX--IX in Fig. 2 and lookin in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawings the mail box is shown as having a front wall l9, side walls H and I2 and a rear wall l3. The rear edges of the side walls I! and 12 are turned outwardly to form flange elements I l and I5, which lay against the back Wall l3 and are rigidly attached thereto by any suitable method such as welding, riveting or folding of the edges of the back wall l3 over the flanges l4 and 15 as desired. The upper edges of the side walls H and I2 are cut so that they slope downwardly from back to front of the box. The box is provided with a cover 15. The cover 56 is hinged to the back Wall by means of preferably, a piano type hinge ll. The front edge of the cover plate is turned downwardly as at 50. and the side edges lfib and H extend beyond the side walls I! and 12 in the same plane with the cover plate It. The cover plate It is provided with a letter hole or slot it which is partially covered by an inwardly and downwardly extending lip element I9.

The central portion of the upper end of the front wall It! is provided with a channeled guide element 2%, the channel portion of which faces the front plate Ill of the box and the end of the legs of the channel are turned outwardly as at 200. and are rigidly attached to the front box plate it) by any suitable method, such as riveting or welding. Slidably carried in the channel 20 is a lock plate 2 l, the upper portionv of which is provided with a cross head 22 that is wider than the plate 2| and is an integral part thereof and serves as a retainer for the plate 2| in the channel 29. The cross head 22 has a hole 23 therethrough for locking purposes as will later be described. The lower end of the lock plate 24 has a cross head formation 24 thereon that is wider than the lock plate 2! and is an integral part thereof and the lower edge of the cross head 24 is turned outwardly as at 25 to form a finger hold by which the lock plate 2| may be raised or lowered. The cover element [6 is provided with a slot 26 through which the cross head 22 may pass when the lock plate 2! is raised, whereupon the loop of a padlock may be passed through the hole 23 and the lock locked, whereupon the mail box is locked in a closed position.

The lower portion of the front wall ll! of the mail box is provided with an opening 21 for observation purposes as will later be described.

The box is provided with an exterior letter holder that consists of an inverted U-shaped element 253 that rests against the outer face of the front plate ii) of the mail box and is positioned around the opening 28. On the back side of the front plate l and alon the lower edge thereof is rigidly fixed looped holder elements 29 in which is held a rod that extends, preferably to each of the side walls ll and I2 of the box. Helical springs 3i and 32 are positioned, one around each end of the rod 30 with one end of each spring bearing against the back side of the front plate if as indicated at 3la. The outer end of each sprin 3! and 32 project through slots 33 and 34 in the front plate [0 and connect, one with the lower end of each leg of the letter holder element 28 so as to yieldably hold the letter holder 28 against the front wall IQ of the box. The method of connecting the spring ends with the legs of the letter holder 23 may be any desired or suitable method, as shown in the drawings, the method of attachment is a longitudinally positioned hole in'each leg end of the letter holder 28 in which is received the outer endsof the springs 3i and 32.

With-in. the foregoing described box is a sec ond. box that is slidable vertically therein. The second box has a front wall 35, two side walls 36. and 31, a rear wall 38 and a bottom 39 that slopes downwardly from front to rear. The up peredges of the front and side walls are posi- .tioned well towards the center of the outside box when the inner box is in its lowered position. However when the inner box is in its lowered position, the upper edges thereof extend well above the. opening 27 in the front wall ll! of the outer box. The front wall of the inner box is provided with an opening 40 that is of such size and I is so positioned that when the inner box is in its lowered position the openin 40 therein and the opening 2'! in the front wall H) of the outer box will bein registry with each other.

The openingll in the front wall 35 of the inner box is covered with a transparent material such as glass or preferably transparent plastic material 4l which overlaps the edges of the wall 35 that boundthe opening 49 and the transparent material 4! is held in position by flush rivets, not shown, which pass through the transparent plastic material t! and the supporting metal. of the front wall 35 of the inner box.

The inner box is provided with a finger lift element that comprises a loop portion 42 having an inwardly extending leg 43 that projects through the opening 2! at the bottom thereof and under the bottom 39 of the inner box andis rigidly attached thereto by any suitable means, such as welding or riveting so as to rigidly support the finger lift 42 outside the outer box whereby the inner box may be lifted or lowered within the outer box. and in this movement the finger lift 42 will-travel up anddown within the opening 2? in the front wall I0 of the outer box.

The rear wall 38 of the inner box is provided with an upwardly extending portion 38a which is merely, an extension or'continuation of the rear wall 38. The extension 38a extends upwardly to a point .just beneath the cover E6 of the outer loop.

The box is provided with a guide strip M that is supported by the outer box and the upper portion of, the rear wall 38a is slidably operable between the guide strip :34 and the rear wall l3 of the outer box so that as the inner box is raised theupper edge of the wall extension 3800 will engage thecover it to raise it as will later be described. The use and operation of the box is as follows: 7

The mailman may insert mail into the box, eitherby lifting the cover of the box and dropping the mail into the box or if desired, he may place the mail in the box by inserting the mail through the opening it in the cover [6 of the box, whereupon the mail will fall into and rest on the bottom 39 of the inner box and will be visible through the transparent material 4 I.

Now to remove the mail from the box the inner box may be lifted by raising the finger hold 52, whereupon the inner box will be raised Within the outer box and in this raising movement the upper edge of the rear wall extension 38a of the inner box will engage the under side of the cover :5 of the outer box and raise the cover [6 to a vertical position as the wall extension 380. progresses upwardly and as the wall extension 38a travels upwardly the upper edge thereof will be received behind the lip I9 and be guided through the opening 48 in the cover i 6 of the box, whereupon the cover it of the box has been raised to its full open position and is now locked and held in its full open position by the rear wall extension 38a and by reason of its position through the cover [5. The inner box having been raised as above described, obviously would carry the mail in the box upwardly with the inner box and when the inner box is in its raised position the mail would project above and lean against the upper edge of the front wall id of the box, whereupon the mail may be easily taken hold of and removed from the box. The reason the mail will lean against the front wall so of the box is that the bottom 38 of the inner box slopes downwardly from the front to rear, therefore the bottom end of the mail supported by the bottom 39 will slide to the lower or rear edge of the bottom 39 which will automatically tip the upper end of the mail forward and to the front wall It of the box which places the mail in a position where it may be easily taken. hold of for removal from the box.

The mail having been removed from themail box as above described, the inner box may be lowered to its original position by moving the finger lift 52 downwardly to its original position, whereupon the back extension 38a will be withdrawn from the slot l 3 and will be moved downwardly to its original position, whereupon the cover It; will fall to its original closed position. The cover having moved to its closed position may be locked closed if desired, by raising the lock plate 2!22 upwardly until the portion 22 thereof passes through the slot 26 and extends above the upper surface of the cover l6, whereupon the loop portion of a padlock may be passed through the hole 23 and the lock closed or locked, whereupon the mail box is locked inv a closed position and mail therein cannot be removed therefrom until the padlock is unlocked and removed from the box.

Now while my improved mail box as shown in t e drawings and described in the foregoing specification is probably the preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that such modifications of the invention may be employed as lie within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intention of the invention. Now having fully shown and described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a mail box of the kind described .comprising in combination, an outer casing and a receptacle carried and being vertically slidable therein, said casing and receptacle having open tops, a cover for said casing and receptacle,

' hingedly attached to the upper edge portion of the rear wall of said casing and having a mail receiving opening in the central portion thereof, the lower portion of the front wall of said casing having an opening therein, means carried by said receptacle projecting through the casing opening for raising and lowering the receptacle in said casing opening for raising and lowering the receptacle in said casing, and means carried by the receptacle for entering and passing through the said mail receiving opening for stabilizing the said cover when in an open position.

2. In a mail box of the kind described and defined in claim 1, said stabilizing means comprising an upward extension of the rear wall of the receptacle, narrower than the width of said receptacle.

FRED B. GALLAJHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

